My first Journal Quilt - finished ;-))

While I tested an idea for creating wood-like structures with felt and wool, I suddenly realized I liked my little piece very, very much. So I measured it, hoping it would be big enough - which, in fact, was! I cut it down to a roughly 6,5" x 6,5" square and declared it the base for my very first Journal Quilt.

Surprise, surprise, my background reminded me of wood ... Something like "forests" came to my my mind - how to depict that on 6"x6"??? I spotted a fabric with dwarfs in the wood - would that work? Let's give it a try ... Thanks to Mistyfuse, the dwarf was sitting comfortably on this little piece of felt in no time. 

Next came grass - and another mushroom ;-)) The stitching was done with several threads, one of them hand-dyed (the bright green at the left and the right side). Using this one was hard on the HORIZON, I would not like to do a big piece with it (or maybe I just need to play a bit with different needles and settings on my machine ... it really looks great to me ...)

For the next step I wanted to add leaves. But I wanted also a 3D-effect ... I joined a leaf-printed fabric with a solid handdyed fabric and cut the leaves out. For the veines, I used stitching. See the tiny leaf on top of the picture? That was done without any help ... and I struggled to get it done properly. Than I heard a tiny voice in my head say - "use a stabilizer!" I did, as you see in the other leaves, and doing the stitching on them was no problem at all.

Before I sewed the leaves down on the piece, the edges were secured with a zigzag. Than the leaves were sewn on with a single stitching line in the main veine. This way, they add depth to the design and I hope, you have the impression of a dwarf, sitting hidden behind leaves !
And where's the connection to "Highly Prized"? The piece started off just because I liked my felted test-piece so much. The dwarf was just a cute thing to use. But while I worked on it and silently asked myself the same question - I realized: dwarfs are common figures in literature and fairy tales. As a bookseller, I LOVE to read, and I love fantasy stories. Therefore, the dwarf in the woods is a symbol for all the figures and creatures in my favourite stories!
Working on my first Journal Quilt was a LOT of fun. I'm happy that I was able to visualize an idea and to make it work. Now I'm looking forward to your comments and your questions ;-))